Black Soil Lab: THE PLEASUREPORTAL LIVE SHOW

Each year, Black Soil Lab spotlights at least one filmmaker, offering a dynamic platform that supports self-taught creators in realizing their film projects through network connections, financial assistance, and dedicated production time. By investing in fresh, authentic voices, Black Soil Lab nurtures emerging talent and contributes to a more inclusive and diverse film industry—one where new makers are empowered to share their unique perspectives. Every supported project premieres at the Black Soil Film Festival, marking the culmination of a journey from vision to realisation.

This year, the spotlight falls on Noleca Radway, a Jamaican-American queer artist and mother from the Bronx. Her multidisciplinary installation, PleasurePortal, reclaims domestic space as a site of transformation and healing. Spanning five rooms—the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and archive—visitors move through phases of sensual awakening guided by scent, sound, touch, and visual poetry. The work’s final chapter unfolds live in the Chapel at LAB111 during the festival, where Radway leads an interactive ritual: a collective journey through memory, desire, and release.